Sole attachment for footwear

ABSTRACT

A sole device or attachment for shoes, boots, athletic shoes, and similar footwear. The device comprises an undershoe attachment made of a lightweight material, including but not limited to rubber or foam, or a combination thereof. The device may come in various sizes to correspond to footwear sizes currently known, and may be of larger size than the corresponding footwear. The device may be attached to the sole of footwear directly by operation of spikes on the bottom of the footwear, or may be secured by one or more straps that extend across the footwear, or some combination thereof.

This application claims priority to Provisional Patent Application No.60/950,376, filed Jul. 18, 2007, by William Christopher Lotterhos andRichard Linder, and is entitled in whole or in part to that filing datefor priority. The disclosure, specification, drawings and accompanyingdocuments of Provisional Patent Application No. 60/950,376 areincorporated herein in their entireties by reference.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates generally to a device that is attached to thesoles of shoes, boots, athletic shoes, or similar footwear.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Individuals who wear specialized shoes or boots such as sports cleats orspikes have difficulty in wearing those specialized shoes or boots inlocations other than on the field or area of play. Such shoes or bootscan damage regular flooring, and can be damaged or worn-away by flooringsuch as concrete. The use of spikes or similar footwear on concrete orsimilar surfaces can lead to slips and falls, and be a safety concern.Athletes seeking to avoid such consequences suffer the inconvenience ofremoving their specialized foot gear in such locations, and donning suchfoot gear at the last minute or in inconvenient locations. Somefacilities might place special flooring down in particular areas toavoid this need, but that flooring comes at an additional cost to placeand maintain.

Similarly, workers with footwear that is muddy, dirty, or debris-laden,must remove that footwear when going outside their area of work, or riskdamaging or contaminating other areas. While galoshes or overshoes thatfit over footwear are known in the art, they are not easy to put on, andcan lead to insecure footing. Also, if the footwear has spikes or anysimilar protrusions or attachments, the galoshes will not fit or can bepierced and destroyed.

Accordingly, what is needed is a device that allows users of specializedfoot gear to continue to wear that foot gear in places other than thefield or area of play or work.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides for a device or attachment for shoes,boots, athletic shoes, and similar footwear. In one exemplaryembodiment, the device comprises an undershoe attachment made of alightweight material, including but not limited to rubber or foam, or acombination thereof. The device may come in various sizes to correspondto footwear sizes currently known, and may be of larger size than thecorresponding footwear. The device may be attached to the sole offootwear directly by operation of spikes on the bottom of the footwear,or may be secured by one or more straps that extend across the footwear,or some combination thereof.

The device thus provides athletes, workers, and other users who wearuncomfortable shoes, boots, cleats, spikes, or other footgear onconcrete, floors, carpet, rocky or muddy terrain, or the like, a meansof absorbing the shock of walking on such surfaces with that footgear,providing traction and a safe way of walking on such surfaces with thatfootgear, and providing additional support to the feet, legs, and back,all while taking just second to put on or remove.

Still other advantages of various embodiments will become apparent tothose skilled in this art from the following description wherein thereare shown and described exemplary embodiments of this invention simplyfor the purposes of illustration. As will be realized, the invention iscapable of other different aspects and embodiments without departingfrom the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the advantages, drawings,and descriptions are illustrative in nature and not restrictive innature.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an elevated side view of one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 shows a top view of another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the figures, wherein like references identify likeelements of the invention, FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment ofan undersole device 2 in accordance with the present invention. Thedevice comprises a body 10 on which the footgear being worn by the useris placed. The body 10 can be of various shapes and sizes. In oneexemplary embodiment, the body can comprise a left-foot and right-footconfiguration which are mirror images of each other, each in a generalshoe or foot-shaped form (as seen in FIG. 2, which shows a right-footconfiguration). In an alternative embodiment, the body can comprise asingle bilateral foot-shaped form, so that an undersole device 2 can beused with either the right or left foot.

In one exemplary embodiment, the body comprises, but is not limited to,a foam, closed-cell foam, rubber, or similar material, or somecombination thereof. The material may be lightweight. The material maybe of such a composition to provide comfort and support to the users,and reduce strain to the user's shins, back, or feet when wearinguncomfortable shoes, athletic cleats or spikes, or the like. In anotherexemplary embodiment, the bottom of the body 10 comprises a bottom layer12 to provide traction. The bottom layer 12 may comprise a materialdifferent from or the same as the material comprising the body 10, andmay be smooth or comprise a pattern or surface (such as ridges, bumps,nubs, waves, a generally rough surface, or the like) to assist inproviding traction. The bottom layer 12 may be formed from, but is notlimited to, rubber, foam, closed-cell foam, plastic or some combinationthereof. There may or may not be an arch 8 in the bottom of the body.

The body 10 may be of any color or colors, and may comprise a pattern,image, logo, picture, or the like. Thus, in one embodiment, the body maycomprise a team's colors and/or logo. The body 10 also may be a solidunit, or may comprise one or more holes or passageways. These may befunctional or decorative, or both.

The body 10 may be of any size or shape. In one embodiment, the body maybe one or two sizes larger than the footwear it is designed to fit.

In one embodiment, the top of the body 10 comprises an inner area 16that receives the footwear. The inner area 16 may be designed towithstand pressure, weight, and the cleats, spikes or bottom of anyshoe. The inner area 16 may comprise a material different from or thesame as the material comprising the body 10, and may be smooth orcomprise a pattern or surface (such as ridges, bumps, nubs, waves, agenerally rough surface, or the like) to assist in providing traction.The inner area 16 may be formed from, but is not limited to, rubber,foam, closed-cell foam, plastic or some combination thereof.

In one embodiment, the inner area 16 may resist penetration by spikes orcleats. In another embodiment, the inner area 16 may be of a materialadapted to permit penetration by spikes or cleats. In one exemplaryembodiment, the inner area 16 may comprise one or more holes, grooves,slots, or the like which are adapted to receive spikes or cleats. Theseholes, grooves, or slots can be of a particular pattern adapted forparticular footwear, or can be in a general pattern so as to acceptdifferent configurations of spikes or cleats. A raised ridge or rim 18around some or all of the perimeter of the top of the body or the innerarea may be used to help keep the footwear on the body of the device andheld snugly, or hold debris in the inner area. The ridge or rim may haveholes or openings 14 to provide ventilation, allow water or debris torun out, provide a decorative appearance, or some combination thereof.

In one exemplary embodiment, the inner area 16 is designed to hold ontothe spikes or cleats, and thus the device can be affixed to the footwearsimply by stepping on the body and applying pressure. The device canthen be removed by simply pulling the device off the bottom of thefootwear.

In other embodiments, one or more straps 20, 22 can be used to securelyfasten the device 2 to the feet of the user. In one exemplaryembodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a back strap 20 is used to secure theheel, while a front strap 22 is used to secure the front. A strap may bepermanently or removably fastened at either or both ends. The fasteningsalso may be rotatable, so that the strap can be moved up or down, orforward and backward. FIG. 1 shows the back strap 20 permanentlyfastened at both ends to opposite sides of the body 10, but able torotate up and down. The front strap 22 may be permanently and rotatablyfastened at one end 24, while removably fastened at the other end 26.The removable fastening may be a snap, button, buckle or similar device.Permanent fastening may be provided by a button, rivet, or similardevice 34. Velcro 36 (as shown in FIG. 1) or similar material may alsobe used to secure the strap, providing for quick and easy removal andfastening.

The straps also may comprise one or more holes 30. These holes may helpreduce weight, but also may be used to place buttons or similar deviceson the strap. The buttons may be decorative or may contain names, teamlogos, or the like.

The device thus provides athletes, workers, and other users who wearuncomfortable shoes, boots, cleats, spikes, or other footgear onconcrete, floors, carpet, rocky or muddy terrain, or the like, a meansof absorbing the shock of walking on such surfaces with that footgear,providing traction and a safe way of walking on such surfaces with thatfootgear, and providing additional support to the feet, legs, and back,all while taking just a second to put on or remove (i.e., easy access).The device may be used with, but is not limited to, football, baseball,softball, golf, lacrosse, soccer, rugby, track, cyclist, basketball,tennis, running, and similar athletic shoes. The device allows suchathletes to keep their footwear on while wearing the device until readyto take the field of play. The device also may be used by working menand women who want to be able to wear their footwear into a home orsimilar location and keep the flooring clean, such as, but not limitedto, construction workers, plumbers, hunters, cable installers,electricians, carpenters, developers, and contractors. The device alsomay be used by individuals with nice shoes, such as business footwear,that they want to keep clean while walking in areas where the shoes arelikely to get dirty or wet, such as fields, construction sites, rainpuddles, and the like. The device thus provides health, safety, andcomfort advantages with ease of access, while protecting and savingflooring, and saving and protecting spikes and cleats from being brokenor worn away, in a variety of colors and styles suitable for any sport,team, or use.

Thus, it should be understood that the embodiments and examples havebeen chosen and described in order to best illustrate the principles ofthe invention and its practical applications to thereby enable one ofordinary skill in the art to best utilize the invention in variousembodiments and with various modifications as are suited for particularuses contemplated. Even though specific embodiments of this inventionhave been described, they are not to be taken as exhaustive. There areseveral variations that will be apparent to those skilled in the art.Accordingly, it is intended that the scope of the invention be definedby the claims appended hereto.

1. A device to attach to the bottom of a user's footwear, comprising: abody with a top and bottom comprised of a lightweight material; andmeans for attaching the body to the sole of the user's footwear.
 2. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the attachment means comprises one or morestraps, said straps removably or permanently fastened at one end to theside of the body.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the body ispenetrated by spikes or cleats on the footwear.
 4. The device of claim1, further comprising a plurality of holes, slots or grooves in the topof the body.
 5. The device of claim 1, further comprising a tractionlayer on the bottom of the body.
 6. The device of claim 5, wherein thetraction layer is patterned.
 7. The device of claim 1, furthercomprising a raised rim around at least a portion of the top perimeterof the body.
 8. The device of claim 1, wherein the lightweight materialcomprises rubber, in whole or in part.
 9. The device of claim 1, whereinthe lightweight material comprises foam, in whole or in part.
 10. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the lightweight material comprisesclosed-cell, in whole or in part.